I get a lot of weird phone messages. Land grabs and murder in the rurals, who you gonna call? I recently helped a Carson City senior citizen who cares for her disabled son. Her landlord would not fix her decrepit, mouse-infested apartment (fittingly a block from the legislature). Problem solved. However, I draw the line at the guy who called wanting me to exterminate … [Read more...]
Dirty deeds done dirt cheap – again and again
BRAIN DAMAGE DEPT. I spoke to a shamefaced coach, aware of the hazardous waste upon which his kids were practicing. Add the football fields of McQueen, Damonte Ranch, Manogue, Carson and Douglas high schools to the list of benzene- and lead-laced artificial turf your kids should avoid. Previous columns exposed Sparks’ Golden Eagle Regional Park, the Jan Evans Juvenile … [Read more...]
Turf and training: Dirty deeds done dirt cheap
Last week’s Barbwire about toxic turf at Sparks’ Golden Eagle Regional Park exposed a bad situation which now appears worse. According to the University of Nevada athletic department, Mackay Stadium, the Peccole Park baseball diamond and Wolf Pack Park all use crumb rubber made from used tires. Washoe County is largely clean, although its one briar patch is close to … [Read more...]
On artificial turf, don’t breathe unless necessary
Tribune ace photographer John Byrne’s action shot in this newspaper was pretty, ugly, and pretty ugly. At first glance, it looked like a plague of dark locusts rising above an otherwise green field. Some poor lout driving a tractor-like contraption was breathing it all in without so much as a bandana. “A FieldTurf employee steers a machine to scrape the artificial turf on … [Read more...]
Sorcerer’s apprentices work cheap in Nevada
Nevada follytix always brings cartoons to life. Accordingly, Sparks City Hall will soon allow anyone to audition for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. I’m bad enough with cars and plumbing, but electricity requires magic that scares me to death, and not without reason. Two non-union electricians have died in these parts in recent years. One flunked his licensing test but was … [Read more...]
Weekend at Bernie’s with Eugene McCarthy’s grandchildren
Her grandfather avoids politics “because we got burned by Eugene McCarthy.” His 20-something granddaughter has traveled here for the past several weeks to campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont. The Asian-American California girl (anyone the age of my granddaughters is a girl) attended last Friday’s Democratic Party Virginia Demmler Dinner at the Downtown Reno … [Read more...]
Last of the dinosaurs: Grease for corporate gears
I attended last Wednesday’s retirement reception for longtime Reno Gazette-Journal reporters Bill O’Driscoll, Ray Hagar, Susan Skorupa and Jeff DeLong, last of the dinosaurs. The latter is former reporter Sue Voyles’ term for journalists who came to the paper before the dawn of the Internet. Other endangered species in attendance included Marilyn Newton, Allan Risdon, Lenita … [Read more...]
The Donald and The Church Lady run among us
Donald Trump and Sharron Angle? Christmastime for us columniators! Just after I learned that The Donald will darken the Sparks Nugget this Thursday, I heard a scurrilous political rumor (is there any other kind?) that moonhowlers are pushing perennial pol Sharron Angle to enter the GOP primary to replace the departing Sen. Harry Reid, D-Searchlight. Gomorrah South … [Read more...]